MENA Crypto Volume Hits $350B as Gulf Markets Accelerate

• MENA’s annual onchain crypto volume has risen to roughly $350 billion.
• Turkey remains the largest regional market, approaching $200 billion annually.
• Saudi Arabia leads growth at 154% year over year, followed by Qatar at 120%.
• The UAE processed approximately $150 billion in crypto transactions during 2025.

The Middle East and North Africa is developing into one of the world’s fastest-growing digital-asset regions, but the forces driving adoption differ sharply across its major markets. Annual onchain transaction volume has climbed from roughly $100 billion in 2022 to an estimated $350 billion by 2025-2026, according to a September 4 analysis from the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI). Turkey remains the region’s largest market by transaction value, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar are recording the fastest growth as Gulf governments build regulated digital-finance ecosystems.

One Region, Two Different Crypto Markets

The $350 billion headline masks an increasingly important divide inside MENA.

In countries facing currency depreciation, sanctions or geopolitical instability, crypto is being used partly as an alternative financial rail. BPI points to Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Iran, where weakening currencies have increased interest in Bitcoin and U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins as tools for preserving purchasing power and transferring value.